Cottonwood, AZ

We found a really neat little spot here for two days.  We'd tried finding a place as we came into Flagstaff, but it seemed I had trouble either getting someone on the phone, or the published number was wrong, etc.  We parked at a Lutheran Church when it got dark and were up and out before 7 am.  I called Turquoise last night and not only did they answer right away, but they were the friendliest folks I've talked to in some time!  That's saying a lot, because I sure know lots of friendly people.  They we waiting for us when we pulled in.  They lead us to our spot, noticed that a tree limb was in the way and removed it on the spot so we could back out into an better spot.  They moved their picnic area so we could fit our monster in!  Turquoise Triangle

We're paying for two nights what we paid for one at Zion's Park.  There aren't many amenities, but we don't mind.  It's so quaint here.  It reminds me of my mother's garden, with lots and lots of whimsical signs, lawn ornaments, flowers, trees, quite areas to relax in the shade.  Not someplace for kids, as there isn't a playground.  There are mainly permanent residents, some in older rigs, but everything is clean and kept up.

What impresses us the most is the customer service!  They wanted no deposit via credit card last night on the phone, and when I went in to pay I was given a treasure trove of literature about the area along with the sweetest little note-pad holder with slots for the little arrows in various colors to tag pages, etc.  Also two very, very nice pens.  I know, some wouldn't give two hoots over these, but to me it showed how hard they are trying in today's environment.  With the attitude and friendliness they show, I'd stay here even if it was just a parking lot.  I just love all the little touches, and everywhere you look, you discover another hidden goodie...a gnome over here, a kitty, an eagle, oh...there's a fox and a cougar! Oh, My!  This old hippy biker chick's kinda spot, for sure.

I know I'll see so many by the time April rolls around, but I saw my first wild little litty bitty lizards today!  If Miss Tracie or Number One Son Tony were here, we'd have to check dresser drawers and closets for pickle jars full of new 'pets.'  Tracie and I laughed about that tonight on the phone.  She 'rescued' frogs and such so much as a child..you never quite knew exactly what she was up to at times.  Some of the things she's told me now that she's an adult!!  LOL!!

We are staying through to Saturday morning, with around 100 miles left to go to Buckeye, AZ.  Tomorrow, we are going to ride to Jerome and play around the area.  There are a ton of activities near, including Montezuma's Castle.  Not sure where we'll end up, but I do know we will have fun!

Thanks for sharing your time with us...I'll have pictures of more than lizards tomorrow...perhaps!  =)

While I've wifi access....

Willie in his tube 

 Pirate washing windows at a fuel stop

 Willie in his Go-Kitty Bag on my lap after the 100 miles of crying

No bars, no wifi...peace and solitude 

 Willie after we stopped...he ZONKED out!  Notice how everything in the loft shifted?

Zion's Park 

 Shots of the rig at Zion River RV Resort

This one is my favorite 

Wow, we're LONG! 

 just travelin' tattooed white trash! It's expensive to be white trash these days!

view from the resort's doggy run 

 meditation tent?  That's what I'd do in there...

 nice set up for kids

It's beyond beautiful here

We're glad we chose this park, even though we now have to backtrack to 14 to meet up with good road to get to Page and down to Flagstaff.  We went by the other park we were looking at in Springdale on the Harley and the road down into the park is worse than some of the roads we've seen!  NO WAY would we take the Gypsy Rose down there!  Since we're too tall to go through the tunnel at Zion's, we have the choice of 59, which is bad road, we've heard, or going north to 14 and then hit 89 on down.  I'm glad it worked out this way...God knows best!

Pirate caught up with the boys today and they are out riding.  We rode by ourselves yesterday through ZP and even though I've been through there before, it still takes my breath away.  I broke into "How Great Thou Art" from the back of the bike!  You cannot look at this much beauty and not want to thank a Higher Power.  It's just amazing!  We stopped at the Thunderbird Cafe for lunch in Mt. Carmel Junction.  Stop in for some of their Ho-Made Pie...quite the interesting story and worth the stop.  Nice gift shop, too!

Even though Zion River RV Resort is on the spendy side for us ($55/night for a 70ft PT), all of their sites are made to order...you could stay here for much less, but we wanted all the bells and whistles for our first 'real park.'  ZRR Park  The folks are so friendly and nice, and we met the most wonderful couple from Houston who are part timers.  They suggest that when we visit San Antonio, we go to a little German town about 30 miles out.   scroll down to New Braunfels  They highly recommend it for something interesting other than the usual stops and it's less expensive than staying in SA.  

Willie and Scooter are beyond happy that Mommy stayed home today with them.  Willie had gotten very sick yesterday when we got back from riding.  He needed a bath, let's just leave it at that.  Poor kitten!  Traveling and we were foolish and feed him a french fry at our Walmart stop.  Never again!  He was  probably crying because his tummy hurt and mean old Mommy made him stay in a cage.  We certainly hope this was all it was, because he has many more miles in his future!

We continue to learn about our new home.  We found out the reason we didn't have cooling to the fridge was because ours is a two way, not three way fridge.  Judy, thank you for the ideas and advice and to Rick for explaining it all to me.  We can't even put into words how much we appreciate the support and feeling of family we feel from all of you!  Thank you thank you thank you!

We still haven't decided if we'll stay another night after tonight or just start heading south again.  Hopefully our next stop will have communication with the outside world other than the times when less than four people are on the resort's wifi, lol.  It is beautiful here, but it IS remote!  The town of Virgin doesn't even have cable service.  But we're liking the 'unplugged' way of life more and more....see y'all down the road and out on the Black Seas!

What a long strange trip it's been...

First off, we're ok!  But, we broke a shock on Utah's I-15...what a rough road through Salt Lake City.  Please use caution going through...huge pot holes, uneven pavement...and of course, still few rest areas.  We were stopped for fuel in Beaver, UT at the Flying J and two of the guys working out of the tire shop there noticed our front tire was unevenly worn.  Then they looked closer and saw the broken shock seal.  God put these guys in our path, and since Pirate was wearing a shirt from Snake Harley in Twin Falls, Idaho, they struck up a conversation.  Seems we know the same guy, Chopper, who used to work there.  Snake Harley really treated us like royalty when we broke down there in 2000...even loaned us a bike to ride while they fixed our starter.

We are all safe and cozy at the Zion River RV Resort in Virgin, UT.  What a nice spot!  The folks are super friendly and they have 70 ft pull thrus.  It's expensive, but a real treat after the day we had today.  Willie cried for 100 miles straight!  We think because of the rough road, and he was tired, we had boondocked at Walmart the night before and he's not used to travel.  He just had a bad day, right?!  One thing we discussed tonight is once we're in Buckeye for the season, we're going to have to continue to take Willie for rides every now and again to keep him used to the truck.  Poor kitty sacked out in his perch after a nice dish of gushy food with warm water to make gravy.  Yup, I spoil my kids!!

Tomorrow Pirate and I are going to ride up to Bryce Canyon.  We have friends coming up on their bikes from AZ to meet up with us, and they should get here tomorrow afternoon.  Then we'll ride Zion's with them, and the cliffs...I can't wait to take pictures for you all!

We learned a thing or two today about travel.  Pirate went into the garage to tighten the tethers on the Road Glide (Rosie) and some of the things on the shelves had fallen..including our BOSE!  We're going to look for netting for those shelves!  Also, I need more cupboard bars, and silly me forgot that my fridge would be off during flight, so I have a cleaning job ahead of me...but that can wait...

Because it's been way too long since I've really been in the saddle and my soul aches for the bike and Mother Nature.  I don't regret a minute of the last two and a half years that I stayed home with Boone and tended to his diabetes and blindness.  Guess what didn't fall...the oil painting of him hanging on my bedroom wall! =)

We don't have over half a bar on our cell phones, but the resort does have free wifi that works at the moment, so I'm off to publish this...thank you for following us on our dream.  Today is the first 'real' day of the real dream...this first ride.  Freeeeeedom!!!

Going to be a virgin again

For anyone wanting to hook up for a ride through Zion or Bryce, we will be at Zions River Resort in Virgin, ut sun thru tues nights. We are st the walmart in at burley idaho tonight.

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Preparing for travel

Omg, my sweet anony...you should see the Gypsy today! Total upheaval as we prepare the garage for the Harley. She would probably have a coronary!

Our adventure officially starts tomorrow. We will be staying at the Walmart Inn on Saturday night, and once we get down by the parks, we have three different spots in mind to stay for a few days. We have ridden Bryce and Zion before, but they are worth riding every chance you get. When we get closer, we will let y'all know. I'm really interested in the animal sanctuary, too. Thanks for the tip!

Hoping to hook up with anyone in the area!

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heading to Kanab, not Moab...and I think I inherited Rick's friend Anonymous

So....I was totally mixed up on our route south and when we searched the map yesterday we discovered my error.  I was a little disappointed, but Pirate assured me that when we head toward Colorado and my friend Teri and son GoJesse, we will stop at Moab then.  The cliff dwellings have been there for hundreds of years, so I doubt they will be going anywhere in the mean time.  Silly Cat!

I'm so excited...I've really made the 'big time!'  I got a hate-filled anonymous comment!! Wahooo!!!!! 2 of them, even!! I sure hope anonymous doesn't click on my ads....I'll be in 'big trouble' if they do, lol!  Speaking of ads, do y'all click on each other's ads when you visit a site like mine that has them?  I do!  I know it's not much dinero, but hey, it's beer money or cat food.  I let anonymous in on the little known secret that if an anonymous commentor clicks on my ads, I'll be kicked off blogger...oh, anony-baby...please, don't do it!  Don't click on any of our ads!!  LMAO!!

I'd like to thank Rick for showing me how to handle anony's comments.  I'll admit, the first thing I wanted to do was to disallow anonymous commenting, but where's the fun in that?  Maybe I can take a lit'l heat off Rick?  I'd like to think that I am...he's a great, helpful guy that we all count on in the blog-o-sphere and G+, so however I can help, Sir!  We all know that someone who won't sign in to make a comment like that is passive-aggressive and probably one of those who either dominate or are dominated...you know *whispers* a bully!  Anony-baby obviously has too much time on their hands and too little brains, so go ahead, I can take it!

Anony-baby should also know that often, I don't bother to even check my comments for days on end.  I usually go through Feedly or Google Reader, so it's about once a week I'll remember to check for comments...unless I've asked a question here and not also on G+...then I check several times a day.

Hmmm...Anony-baby seems to think my shelves are a mess...so what?!  We all know what it takes to shove, squeeze, store, shuffle and juggle things around to make room in these oddball sized storage compartments.  Especially when just starting out.  And I know that there is someone who NEEDS to see them!  I wish someone had posted pictures as a guideline for me...it's so overwhelming!  Oh, my!  I just thought...I should post a picture of myself without make up on!  That would be scary!!  I'm old, anony-baby, and really don't care about the good opinion of other people.  I know, I've given her her fifteen minutes of fame now, but it's kinda fun.  See, I like the attention...never seemed to get enough of it as a child.

Anony-baby, you didn't point out that I am messy, you pointed out that you have a need to judge.  You're probably jealous, as well as passive-aggressive and a bully, so you've got quite enough on your plate...I'll say a prayer for you each day, Girlfriend.  I can tell you're female, because if you're male and said that, well...um...if you can't figure out what THAT says about you...you need to come on out of that closet.

So, back to Kanab, UT.  We will be staying in that area for a few days to ride Bryce and Zion's canyons before heading on down to AZ.  Has anyone stayed 'n played there recently?  Any ideas on great parks?  Your humble kitty-correspondent thanks you in advance!  Now I'm off to click on ads...

So happy for a garage door in my Coach

Willie can watch what's going on without escaping

I love the 'french' door..Willie can see through it, but can also be contained in the living area of the Coach.  This is sooo handy for moving things in and out.  Most of the Road Warrior models have the option for a slider door, but since our entertainment center is on that wall, we're out of luck.  

Scooter goes for her last groom tomorrow...thankfully once we're down in Buckeye, AZ, our dear friends who have moved there will have a good groomer for their dogs.  But once we really strike out on our own, we'll have to rely on locals wherever we happen to be.  We have an outside shower, so we can either wash her outside or just take her in our shower with us.  That may end up being what we do, unless the parks we stay at have a self doggy wash station like this one.  We are going to ask Nicole, her groomer, how to care for her feet and nails ourselves.  She'll need nails done before haircuts, due to her neglect before we rescued her.

Pirate is concerned about the angle of the ramp door and getting the bike high-centered.  We're looking at places we can move the Coach to so we can relieve some of that angle.  I'm sure once we get the hang of loading and unloading, it'll be a piece of cake, but I want spotters for the first time.  I've had to pick that bike up off of my Pirate before, and nearly tore a muscle in half doing it.  I don't know how I managed other than the adrenaline you get...the kind that allows mothers to pick up cars off their babies kind.  It was slow motion and done without thinking...he was underneath and I was getting him OUT OF THERE!  Thankfully, we were only going 5 mph when we hit pea gravel about a foot thick.  The gravel just grabbed those tires and we stopped!  I stepped off the bike like we'd always practiced, then flipped around and lifted the bike.  I had the shoulder injury that we didn't know about and Pirate was thoroughly bruised...Rosie only had a scratch on one of her saddle bags.  Our  friend Mikey offered to come get us with his bike trailer, but we ended up finishing that trip, thanks to prayers and Angels.

We have a 'slight' change in plans for heading south...we didn't realize how far east Moab, UT is...it's totally out of our way, so Kitty doesn't get to go this time.  =(  We will be going through Bryce Canyon, Zion's Park, and Grand Canyon and will probably stay in that area for three days.  More friends than I knew about are coming to meet us there and ride in.  I'm not so sure how I feel about that.  Seems like a lot of folks are hanging from our coattails here...with two friends uprooting their lives and moving to AZ.  I'm really looking forward to some time with my husband...ahem, people!  Pirate did reassure me that this is OUR journey and they can make plans around OUR schedule....I just hope that is what happens.  I've waited such a long time for this and dreamed and schemed and planned for this.  Hopefully the 'newness' will wear off quickly and they will settle into some sort of routine that doesn't include us every day.  I'm going to be selfish with my time because like I said, I've waited far too long to let someone else infect their wishes into this.  Can you sense the agitation, lol?  

Big Sigh...and thanks for letting me rant a bit.  We will only be in Buckeye for 7 months, and that will be the longest we stay in one spot.  We're going to get the kinks worked out down there and do some upgrades to the Gypsy Rose, too.  We will get our screen room and slide toppers while there (the fridge slide REALLY needs help keeping things cool).  Next April/May we will head North and come see the kids, then start planning the rest of our journey.  I'm going to have to get used to traveling in this big ol' Rig by then without getting so nervous.  I just keep telling myself that if we can make through the Big Horn Mountain Range with the Gypsy Rose, we can make it through anything!  That shakedown cruise really did prepare us.

Now I'm off to design our business cards.  I'm printing up cards to hand to folks with the website on it.  That way folks we meet along the way can follow us.

I had a comment on the last entry that said they couldn't live in a fifth wheel.  It's not for everyone, that's for sure.  Most folks have a need for the stix n' brix.  That's ok, not everyone can see themselves doing Harley road trips, either.  It's got to be in your blood, I think.  I just have way too many things I want to see before I get my ticket to the other side.  As King George said, "I ain't here for a long time, I'm here for a good time!" I am the truly independent of the good opinion of other people, I know who I am, and I really dig being me...it's great fun being a crazy old biker chick with too many tattoos!